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Wrexham: How One Stadium Project Eliminated The Construction Inefficiency Problem
Hollywood star power and historic sports culture fueled the revival of a stadium for Wrexham Association Football Club in Wales. The fusion of digital maps and 3D models charted the course.
When actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought the club in 2021, Wrexham's Racecourse Ground—the oldest international football stadium still in use—needed repair. They made modernizing the beloved venue a top priority.
With the celebrity owners documenting their efforts in an FX docuseries, the stadium played a lead character. At the heart of the ambitious construction project: a bold vision for the club's future, grounded in respect for its past.
To balance innovation and tradition, Ramboll, an engineering and architecture firm, carefully reviewed every decision using advanced mapping and modeling.
With the stadium embedded in existing neighborhood infrastructure and adjacent to active rail lines, any design misstep risked undermining community support, a crucial element of the project's viability.
Ramboll needed to fit a new Kop stand into the existing neighborhood layout. They did this through a fusion of two powerful technologies: geographic information system (GIS) and building information modeling (BIM) software.
By combining GIS-powered maps and 3D BIM models, project teams created dynamic visualizations of the site, surrounding area, and planned upgrades. These digital environments became a shared source of truth. Data moved freely between the two platforms, bringing models to life with rich environmental details.
Traditionally, the firm's design and environmental teams worked in isolation. Each used specialized tools that didn't easily share information. By merging maps and models, they streamlined collaboration.
Environmental staff could collect data right from the site and link it directly to the BIM tools used by designers. This opened new ways to share information and formed connections that didn't exist in prior workflows.
The benefits went beyond saving time.
Designers could bring multiple building models into one place. They could see how everything on the stadium site—from pipes to pathways—fit together. That big-picture view helped them fine-tune designs to match what was already on the ground. In turn, they could avoid conflicts before they arose, making the whole project smarter and smoother.
Creating Essential Contextual Insights
For the designers and construction teams tasked with developing the new 5,500-person-capacity Kop stand, integrating detailed maps and sophisticated building models provided significant advantages.
Previously, design teams worked in isolation, viewing building models without understanding how they fit into the real world. They would miss critical interactions with existing infrastructure, terrain, and utilities.
By combining building designs with geographic data, teams could anticipate problems before construction began. They designed for water drainage, traffic flow, and sustainability features like solar panels and stormwater management. They reduced costly surprises and enabled resilient infrastructure planning.
Overall, the key benefit is that teams moved from reactive problem-solving to pro-active risk mitigation. They integrated environmental and operational considerations from day one rather than discovering conflicts during construction.
A Hollywood Tale of Community Rebirth
Wrexham's transformation extends far beyond the stadium. It's driving a citywide economic revitalization that's reshaping an entire Welsh community.
'They're looking at transport, regeneration of the city center, and the non-match-day amenities that include a hotel, retail shops, and room for offices,' said Sarah Widdowfield, UK and Ireland digital hub manager at Ramboll.
When Reynolds and McElhenney purchased the struggling club in 2020, they brought not just financial resources but also marketing expertise. Wrexham AFC has steadily progressed from the fifth tier of English football to the EFL Championship (the second tier). Driving the success is increased financial investment, a global fan base surge, and the 'Welcome to Wrexham' television series.
The impact of the actors' involvement is 'probably as much on the business side as it is stoking the passion for the Red Dragons,' Widdowfield said.
In April 2025, Wrexham became the first team in English football history to win back-to-back-to-back league promotions, bringing even more civic pride to the historic mining community.
As Wrexham continues to flourish, technology can help it grow in a way that's respectful of the past and intentional about the more about how architecture, engineering, and construction businesses can use GIS for smarter planning, development, and operation management.
